Monarch George III Monarch George III | Preceded by The Lord Ashburton Name Edward 12th | |
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Died October 21, 1834, Ormskirk, United Kingdom Parents James Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange Spouse Elizabeth Farren (m. 1797), Elizabeth Smith-Stanley, Countess of Derby (m. 1774) Children Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby Education Eton College, Trinity College, Cambridge Similar People Edward Smith‑Stanley - 14th Earl, Elizabeth Farren, Elizabeth Gunning - 1st Baron, Thomas Stanley - 1st Earl of De | ||
Prime Minister The Duke of Portland Succeeded by The Earl of Clarendon Prime Minister The Lord Grenville | ||
Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby PC (12 December 1752 – 21 October 1834), usually styled Lord Stanley from 1771 to 1776, was a British peer and politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He held office as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1783 in the Fox-North Coalition and between 1806 and 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.
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Background and education
Derby was the son of James Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange, son of Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby. His mother was Lucy, daughter and co-heir of Hugh Smith of Weald Hall, Essex. His father had assumed the additional surname of Smith by Act of Parliament in 1747. Derby entered Eton College in 1764, proceeding to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1771.
Political career
Derby was returned to Parliament as one of two representatives for Lancashire in 1774, a seat he held until 1776, when he succeeded his grandfather in the earldom and entered the House of Lords. He served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between April and December 1783 in the Fox-North Coalition headed by the Duke of Portland and was sworn of the Privy Council the same year. He remained out of office for the next 23 years but was once again Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 1806 and 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents headed by Lord Grenville.
Lord Derby also served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire between 1776 and 1834. He was also listed as a subscriber to the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal navigation in 1791.
Horse racing
At a dinner party in 1778 held on his estate "The Oaks" in Carshalton, Lord Derby and his friends planned a sweepstake horse race, won the following year by Derby's own horse, Bridget. The race, the Epsom Oaks, has been named after the estate since. At a celebration after Bridget's win, a similar race for colts was proposed and Derby tossed a coin with Sir Charles Bunbury for the honour of naming the race. Derby won, and the race became known as the Derby Stakes. Bunbury won the initial race in 1780 with his horse, Diomed; Derby himself won it in 1787 with Sir Peter Teazle.
Family
Lord Derby married Lady Elizabeth, daughter of James Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton, on 23 June 1774. She bore him three children, being:
In the late 1770s, Lady Derby had a very public affair with John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset. In 1779, the countess moved out of Lord Derby's house, leaving their children behind, apparently expecting that her husband would agree to a divorce and that the Duke would then marry her. About one year after she left his house, Lord Derby made it known that he had no intention of divorcing his wife; at the same time, he continued to deny her access to her children. The countess was socially ostracised for the remainder of her life. Historian Peter Thomson suggests that the third of the couple's children, Lady Elizabeth Henrietta, was the result of Lady Derby's affair with Dorset. Despite this, the Earl of Derby cared for the child after his wife left him.
Lady Derby died at the age of 44 on 14 March 1797. Only six weeks later, on 1 May 1797, Lord Derby married the actress Elizabeth Farren, daughter of George Farren. She bore him a further four children and died on 23 April 1829. Lord Derby survived her by five years and died on 21 October 1834, aged 82. He was succeeded in the earldom by his son from his first marriage, Edward, Lord Stanley.